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I’ve heard that you are planning to travel, who is coming with you? Nobody, my friend. If you are planning your first solo trip or just wondering how it is to travel alone, keep on reading.

On my trip to China in 2012, I decided that I will never travel alone again, but saying never usually never works out! Traveling alone is not only a trip around the world for a year. It could be a long road to visit your loved ones, canceled or connecting flight that keep you waiting for many hours.

In this post I will talk about the negative and positive sides of traveling alone.

Why I hate it

Waiting for airplanes – sucks

Even though an airport is a good place to get to know new random people, it is not as exciting as meeting someone in a party. If you are on connecting flight, it is very likely that night before your first flight you didn’t sleep well and the last thing you want to do is socialize with strangers.

The other downside is that most airports have little or no access to free WiFi. It might sound stupid, but let’s be honest, these days we all want to be online when we are completely bored.

Your belongings are like your babies

No matter how big or small your bags are and whatever is in it, you don’t want to lose or get it stolen. Things get easier when you arrive to the hotel or hostel, but until then you’re the caretaker.

Although, in some cases it might be useful. I remember once when I arrived to some train station in China I couldn’t lock the toilet so I used my back pack to keep it closed.

Food and accommodation is more expensive

You are right, there are hostels that are extremely cheap, but the comfort you get when sleeping with 11 other dudes in the same room is not the same as having a comfortable bed in a private room with a friend or a girlfriend.

The same story goes with food. It is much cheaper when you go out dining with someone else and share dishes you order. Especially at the Asian restaurants, where the portions are huge and prices are low.

Eating alone makes you go nuts

The first moment when you walk into the restaurant and ask a table for one, you realize that you will dine with yourself. If it is breakfast, lunch and dinner… it can become challenging experience to handle. No, not the part of putting food in your mouth, but waiting for it to arrive. Should I check old photos on my phone or fold an airplane from a napkin? You get the point, right?

Getting lost in a city is your own fault

Obviously, you have experienced at least once the feeling of being lost in an unknown city. It sucks, you feel hopeless, but being with some companion usually makes things solved much faster. When you are on your own, there is nobody to rely on. It is your own fault if you can’t find your way to the best café in town!

Why I keep on travelling solo

You choose where you go and what you do

There’s nobody who will say “I don’t want to do this or go there”. You are free to change your travel plan without proving anyone that your new plan is better than the one before. It makes you less stressed and you spend more time on what you like, rather than adjusting to friends’ plans.

You will get to know more new people

We humans, are social beings. If we feel really lonely, then we socialize with hotel receptionists, waiters, other guests at the hostel or even random people in the street or a café. It is actually a good way to meet like-minded travelers who would make your journey more enjoyable.

It will make you a stronger person

My trip to India was one of the most challenging travel experiences in my life. At that time I was inexperienced dude with a 14kg backpack on my back, but what I’ve learned from that trip was worth the struggle. The things you learn will be useful not only in future traveling, but also in your personal life when you go back home.